Domestic Life with Aomine Daiki and Kagami's cat
by weirdgrammar
Summary: Aomine was already in the Zone to murder the cat. The cat lashed out its claws in defense. Kagami was in midway through stopping them from fighting, actually forgetting that he was already late for work. It was quarter past seven in the morning, and yet their apartment was already filled with loud curses and high-pitched angry mewls.


**© weirdgrammar (anti-carrot)**

**Kuroko no Basuke**

**AoKaga one-shot**

**For Mr Bear and Linra,  
>the souls of patience and encouragement as always.<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>[ 7.00 A.M. ]<strong>

_My paradise is,_

_In bed,  
>with you.<br>Watching the sun rise on your face._

_-Taiga_

Aomine Daiki awoke to a gentle smack on his lips, the incessant ringing of alarm clock sounding so distant in his ears. He lifted his head without opening his eyes, surprised to feel a weight on his chest which was accompanied with a sound of soft purring.

Wait, purring? Taiga purring?

Taking the chance at cracking a curious eye open, Aomine was greeted with a pair of bright yellow eyes staring into his.

And promptly cursed out loud.

The black cat jumped off of him, skidding across the bedroom to the closed door, and bared its fangs, its tail high up in the air, its eyes turning into slits, and hissed at him warningly, as if telling him 'fuck you, human'.

Aomine rose from the comfy bed, the white blanket pooling around his waist as he sat upright to shut the alarm clock on the bedside table off, and rubbed his hand over his face to chase the sleep away. He glared at the cat through the blurry vision. The cat was still hissing at him. Aomine had no clue if this had something to do with his 'panther instinct' or not, but somehow he got the fucking message and he felt his head throb in annoyance. And believe him, annoyance and drowsiness aren't the best combination in the early morning for him.

"Quit hissing, damned cat. You're the one who rudely interrupted my precious sleep."

The cat hissed at him again in return.

"Fine. We'll see if you still can hiss at me when I'm done skinning you alive." Aomine attempted to haul himself out of the bed, but was stopped when the door was opened, revealing his most favorite human in the world, his only husband, Kagami Taiga in a fitted black T-shirt and firefighter orange pants. Aomine landed back on the bed, folding his legs, his back straight, his cheeks were pulled up to form an innocent grin for his husband.

Kagami kept the blue mug close to his chest, taking a quick note at their cat rubbing its whiskers on his legs, and glowered at Aomine. "No one is skinning Kuro."

Aomine's grin fell, and so did he to the bed. He pulled the blanket over his face. "I hate that stupid cat," he whined into the blanket. "I told ya' I want a dooooooog, not that stupid cat," he said, actually starting to enjoy the whine.

"You know I can't stand with dogs," his husband told him. Aomine heard the curtains being drawn back and the window sill cracked open, and then sunlight bathed over the blanket, illuminating faint light on his face under the blanket. "So, no dogs, okay?" Kagami's voice sounded closer. A shadow stole the illumination from his face, followed with the bed dipping under the presence of a new weight, and then Aomine felt a chaste kiss on top of his forehead.

The grin was back on his lips. Aomine pulled himself into a sitting position. "Okay, if and only if that stupid cat sleeps outside." He glared at the cat. The black cat looked away lazily, _arrogantly_, and it only fed Aomine's anger. "I swear to my own name I'm gonna slaughter that stupid cat one day."

"C'mon, Kuro's just a kitten. He's scared of sleeping alone," Kagami squeezed Aomine's arm. Kagami presented him the blue mug to distract him. "Here, your morning coffee. It will clear your head."

Aomine wanted to protest because, seriously, that stupid cat's weight was at least twelve pounds – he wasn't a bright person, but he knew kitten isn't supposed to be that heavy – and he had to suffer from suffocating almost every morning because of that stupid cat, but, nooooo, he couldn't do that. Not when his beloved husband was levelling him with a soft, pleading look, the one Aomine had no resistance with, and dear gods, the smell of coffee was successfully making his anger melt away.

"Fine," Aomine said on a sigh, taking the mug from Kagami and sipping it. Bitterness and faint sweetness spilled across his tongue in an instant. Aomine moaned blissfully. "You're lucky I'm a generous husband and your coffee tastes great." He placed a morning kiss on his husband's lips.

Kagami chuckled against his lips. "I think that's arguable."

Aomine skillfully placed the mug on the bedside table behind Kagami without tearing his gaze away from him. "What? Your coffee?" He leaned closer.

"Nope, your generosity." Kagami tugged at Aomine's front shirt, his lips curling into a suggestive smirk.

Aomine nuzzled up against Kagami's neck, taking in the unique musky cinnamon scent he knew only Kagami possessed it. "Is that so?" he asked playfully, loving the way Kagami's chuckles vibrated through his neck, and Aomine's mouth found the soft skin of Kagami's neck, making Kagami squeak out a cute little moan.

"Ye—yeah," Kagami was struggling with the moans that were working its way out of his windpipe. "You… hate Kuro."

"I don't share. And seeing you giving your love to that stupid cat, which supposedly belongs to me only, is really annoying." Aomine focused more on peppering Kagami's neck with wet kisses, along his pulsing veins to make his point clear. Kagami moaned louder. Aomine felt Kagami's hands pushing up his back and meeting at his hair, then fisting it in his hands. The harsh tug on his root went straight to his groin, and a second later, Kagami was on his back with Aomine hovering above him.

Aomine smirked, his thumb pressing into Kagami's soft bottom lip. Oh, that flushed cheeks, glazed eyes, heaving chest, Kagami was definitely a great breakfast for him. Lust bloomed in his chest, and Aomine couldn't wait to devour what was his.

"You and your love, they are mine alone—"

And a hard impact on the side of his head sent Aomine flying from the bed to the floor, head first, with a loud thud. It took him few seconds to recover from the shocking pain then jackknifed upright to the bed while rubbing his sore head.

The stupid cat had landed on top of his clueless husband, and was hissing at him. Aomine definitely could read 'FUCK OFFFF! HE'S MY HUMAN!' emanating from the cat.

Aomine balled his hands into fists, his patience over the limit. "Damned caaaaattt…" At the moment, he couldn't care less if his husband would mourn over the cat's death and deny him sex for killing the stupid cat, but the cat had passed its limits.

"Wait, Daiki—"

Aomine was already in the Zone to murder the cat. The cat lashed out its claws in defense. Kagami was in midway through stopping them from fighting, actually forgetting that he was already late for work.

It was quarter past seven in the morning, and yet their apartment was already filled with loud curses and high-pitched angry mewls.

_In your eyes,  
>I see home.<em>

_-Daiki_

...-...-...

**[ 7.45 A.M. ]**

_Love every moment I spend with you_

_-Taiga_

_P/S: Can you stop fighting with Kuro?_

"Do you have to go to work?" Aomine pouted, watching from the entrance way of their apartment as his husband put his boots on. The stupid cat joined him mewling, sitting next to his leg, pleading Kagami to stay at home. For this time, Aomine didn't mind teaming up with the stupid cat if it could make Kagami stay.

"Yes, I told you last night I didn't get a day off today." Kagami got to his feet with a huff. He dusted his pants off. "And thanks to you and Kuro, I had to clean your mess, and now I'm late."

"But I don't always get a day off." Which was the grim fact they both knew well and had to learn to live with. Aomine's duty as a special cop kept demanding him to bounce around the district and leave Kagami alone for days. Too often Aomine got home to sleeping Kagami either on the couch or in bed, and wrapping his arms around Kagami's sleeping form was the only way to inform Kagami that he was indeed there and quench his thirst for Kagami's touch.

Kagami smiled ruefully, knowing the knowledge was hurting them both. "We both are free tomorrow, remember? I promise we'll do whatever you want tomorrow."

"Promise?"

"Yep, promise."

"Including kicking the stupid cat out of our house?" Aomine tried. The cat growled, he snorted.

"Told you, we're not kicking Kuro out," Kagami said firmly. "But we could ask Alex to take care of him for a day," he reached down to scratch the cat behind its ears.

"I'm suggesting—"

"No."

"No?" Aomine asked again, a hopeful grimace on his face.

"Never." Kagami gave him a stern look. Aww… Aomine groaned. The luck wasn't on his side today. "I have placed today's note in the bottle," Kagami informed him, head jerking to the simple living room. Aomine's eyes followed him, and fell upon a glass milk bottle on top stereo set, which was stuffed with piece of red papers. He knew what's it for; in fact, he, too, had it, but with blue notes, and the bottle was kept inside the drawer of bedside table. "I'll be back at five. Try to keep yourself from killing each other or both of you will sleep outside tonight," Kagami threatened them both with pointing finger.

"Got it," Aomine replied lazily while the cat meowed.

Satisfied with the answer, Kagami pivoted on his heels and took his leave.

It was ten minutes before eight in the morning, which means nine hours of lazing around with the stupid, useless cat as his only companion before their—no, _his_—favorite human gets home. Aomine cut a glance nose down to the cat. The cat cast him a sharp glare before elegantly walking away to the living room with its head held high.

Right… he must find a way to spend the day without accidentally roasting the stupid cat. That or Kagami will roast him too.

_Statement no 1: I love my waifu.  
>Statement no 2: My waifu's Kagami Taiga (mine, mine, mine!).<em>

_Conclusion: I love Teriyaki burger & Kagami Taiga!  
>Wait, it's in the wrong order. *le gasp*<em>

_-Daiki_

_P/S: don't u dare put that stupid cat in the equation too!_

...-...-...

**[ 8.30 A.M. ]**

_I hate you for making me love you_

_-Taiga_

Aomine leaned his back against the shoe shelf by the door with his hands paused in midway through lacing his black Air Jordan. He stared at the stupid cat while it was rubbing its whiskers on the orange ball Aomine was planning on bringing along to his morning jogging. The ball rolled away, and Aomine managed to catch it before it gets too far away. He brought the ball to his side.

The stupid cat meowed again.

"No, I'm not bringing you along, damned cat," he said, knowing the cat's intention.

Another mew.

"You're staying at home, dammit. You're an indoor cat."

Another mew.

A pity one, too.

Aomine sighed, throwing his head back with his hand on his face. Now don't misunderstand him, Aomine actually loved animals, but not this damned cat. From the first time the cat had woken from its sleep after being saved by Kagami from a flashflood, the cat had come attached to Kagami and made sure it got all of Kagami's affection. Aomine got scratched and hissed by the damned cat so many times he had lost count in the competition of getting Kagami's love.

To simply put, he despised the damned cat.

However, Aomine was willing to cope with the damned cat for Kagami's sake. The damned cat may not be his friend, a rival even, but to Kagami, Kuro was a guardian, a friend to play with when he wasn't around, a companion to talk nonsense to while Kagami waited him home.

And because of that, there was a small part of Aomine actually convinced that he had an unsaid debt with the damned cat.

Aomine stared at the cat, mauling over this in his silence. The cat gently pushed its head on his leg. He let out another sigh to end all the sighs. "Fine. Get on my hoodie, stay put or I'll drop you off near Maji Burger."

The cat meowed loudly, probably _happily_. Aomine shook his head, wondering why he was doing this. He hunkered down, presenting the cat his back so the cat could get on his hoodie. The cat hopped up, latched its claws onto the fabric, which Aomine was darn sure he heard a slight tear, before the cat settled itself there.

Aomine reached back to examine the hoodie. Yeeep, a tear. And this was his favorite shirt, too, given by Kagami. Aomine wanted to scream out his frustration.

It was eight thirty-seven in the morning; eight hours and twenty-three minutes before Kagami gets home. The cat was purring softly, Aomine was scheming to drop it off somewhere far without getting Kagami noticed about its sudden missing.

_I can stare at your weird eyebrows for the whole day if you let me_

_-Daiki_

_P/S: I think I can do better if it's ur cock  
>;9<em>

...-...-...

**[ 10.18 A.M. ]**

_I think Kuroko's our cupid, you know that?_

_-Taiga_

_P/S: Hey, listen!_

"Your right."

As if on cue, Aomine turned to the right, only to have his cheek pressing against a cold Pocari. Alarmed at the sudden coldness, he backed away and lifted his head up to see the person behind the bench.

"Che, Tetsu." At the realization of his former shadow, his muscles relaxed. Aomine reclined back on the bench, staring ahead at the empty court he and Kagami loved to visit, at the stupid cat as it chased the rolling ball across the court. He could hear a siren and honks in the distant, which had been picked up by the cold breeze. The morning breeze felt good on his sweating skin. "You should work on your weak presence."

"You know it's not that simple." Tetsu joined him sitting on the bench, putting down the cold Pocari between them. Tetsu, being Tetsu, sat with his posture straight. "If I could improve my weak presence, I'd have done it years ago and I wouldn't become Aomine-kun's and Kagami-kun's shadow," he said, his voice quiet as usual. "Oh, and good morning to you too, Aomine-kun."

At the mention of their past, Aomine pulled the torn hoodie over his head to shield his eyes. He slid his back down to slump against the bench, his hands on top of his abdomen, his legs stretched out. "Enough with the shadow stuff already," he groaned.

A soft chuckle escaped Tetsu. "How's your day? Enjoying your day off?"

Aomine peeked through the torn hoodie at the stupid cat. The stupid cat was clawing at the ball. He mentally swore if he finds a hole or trace of claws, he's gonna cook that stupid cat. "If you're asking about spending my precious day off with that stupid cat instead of Taiga, then it sucks."

"And you're still bringing him along."

"_It_ wouldn't stop making noises," Aomine stressed the pronoun after noticing Tetsu's usage of individual noun. "That cat's whines are killing me."

"Well, he whines as much as you do," Tetsu pointed out.

Aomine titled his head to the side and glared at Tetsu. "Don't lump me together with that stupid cat."

Tetsu met his gaze without flinching, a tiny, knowing smile on his lips. "Just admit it, Aomine-kun. You and Kuro-san share the same amount of hatred for each other and love for Kagami-kun."

"Hatred, yes. Love, no. No one can love Taiga more than I do."

"If Kuro-san could talk, he'd say the same thing." Tetsu still had the same smile.

"If it could talk, I'd sell it to the researchers."

"Kagami-kun would kill you."

"I'd get him a better cat than that stupid cat—OWWW!" The stupid cat had locked its sharp teeth into his leg, making Aomine yelp in pain. "Fucking cat!" he reached down for the cat, but Tetsu had scooped it up into his arms just in the nick of time before he could make a grab for it. He shot the stupid cat a glare. The cat hissed.

"Cats can understand human language, Aomine-kun," Tetsu supplied. "Perhaps you should watch your language or you might hurt his feelings."

"I don't fucking care about its feelings or whatsoever," Aomine gritted out, lifting his leg up to rub at the sore spot. He had been attacked by that stupid cat twice! "I'll personally slaughter you, damned cat."

Another louder hiss came from the stupid cat.

"Kagami-kun wouldn't be happy to hear that." Tetsu frowned albeit not vividly. He put some distance between Kuro and Aomine for the cat's safety. Aomine-kun's agility wasn't something should be looked down on; it was one of the main reasons why Aomine-kun had been entrusted with the title of the Ace of the Kiseki. And Kuroko was sure he could never beat Aomine-kun in that department. "Drink that Pocari to cool out."

One thing that amazed Aomine was how smooth Tetsu could insert sternness into his gentle voice, making him shudder. Aomine complied. He was thirsty anyways, after shooting hoops for almost two hours. And according to his pet's theory, no one should refuse a free drink. He took a sip, savoring the coldness sliding down his parched throat into his belly. He gave out a moan in bliss. Aomine, then, downed the rest of the drink without so much bothering to breathe.

"Phew, that was awesome," he cheered at last, raising the canned drink.

"So, what are you planning to do later?" Tetsu started again.

Aomine crumpled the can in his hand then effortlessly pitched it off across the court into the bin in the corner with an impressive accuracy. The can went in without touching the mouth. He shrugged. "Dunno. Sleeping, maybe."

"Why don't you do housekeeping?" Tetsu suggested. He was scratching between the cat's ears. The stupid cat purred softly.

"Me, housekeeping?" Aomine arched a brow. "You must be shitting me."

"It's not that bad. Kagami-kun's been cleaning the place alone this entire time to welcome you home. It's not wrong to return the favour, is it?"

Aomine was lapsed into silence. He stared at the expressionless man, but Tetsu's face gave out nothing like joking or sorts. Damn, Tetsu got him thinking hard. Aomine ducked his head away from Tetsu's line of sight. "Well… that just ain't me. So…" his voice trailed off for a better comeback, but couldn't find one. He decided to switch the subject. "How about one-on-one? Been ages we didn't play together."

"Now?"

"Yeah, now." Aomine leaped to his feet and walked over to the ball. He swiftly swept it up in one hand then turned on his heels to face Tetsu again. He dribbled for a moment, letting the sound of bouncing ball lure Tetsu. "C'mon, you can team up with that stupid cat if you want. I know you're dying for some games after being buried in shitty manuscripts for months."

"I know writer is not as great as special officer." Tetsu rose from the bench. The cat jumped to the side and sat there. "But I can't let you insult my job, can I?" Tetsu gave him a challenging smile.

Aomine's smirk grew wider. He passed the ball to Tetsu, getting into defense. Tetsu inched closer while dribbling the ball. They stared at each other for the longest moment, the shadow and the light, their mind already in the game.

"Bring it on," Aomine said.

It was a quarter before eleven in the morning; seven hours and fifteen minutes before Kagami gets home. The cat was watching the game with a bored expression on its face. Aomine was playing one-on-one with Tetsu, his eyes bright and a wide, childish-like smirk seemed to etch to his lips forever.

_Hey, thanks._

_For saving me._

_-Daiki_

...-...-...

**[ 12.10 P.M. ]**

_I'm torn between angry and relief to see your dirty clothes lying around._

_It's a physical evident that you're still here with me._

_-Taiga_

_P/S: next time, put it in the basket laundry, dammit!_

Aomine cradled the phone between his ear and shoulder, his hands carrying the basket laundry that was brimmed with dirty clothes and sheets as he waddled forward, dodging the stupid cat in his way to the laundry machine. His brows were furrowed into a frown, concentrating on the words—harsh words—exploding out of Midorima's mouth down the phone.

"C'mon, I just need to ask you one question. It's crucial," Aomine said, putting down the basket by the machine.

Midorima was spouting complains about disturbing him during his precious break and wasting his time.

Aomine rolled his eyes. He crouched down on the floor. "Just one minute. Hey, listen." His hands were stuffing the dirty clothes and sheets without bothering to untangle the clothes first. "I just need you to explain to me how use this damned laundry machine."

Midorima threw him a question.

"What? Since when I started to do the laundry? Let's just say I'm in mood to help my beloved waifu, Taiga—hey, don't give me that 'urrghhh' sound. It's romantic, 'kay? A tsundere like you won't understand this romantic thingy."

So, on a sigh, Midorima began his explanation. At the speed of light, Aomine should add.

"Whoa, slow down, man." Aomine held up his hand, even if Midorima couldn't see him. "One by one."

Midorima tried again.

"Okay, buttons… start button, right. Start button, start button, start button, start button, start button," he played the words repeatedly on his tongue as his eyes looked for said button, his pointing finger following his eyes. "What again? The detergent? Which detergent? The one Taiga's using? Oh, I've gotta put the detergent first? You mean, before the clothes? Oh, no? Whenever I want? Hey, stop making me confuse. Detergent first or start button first? Hey, hey, hey, don't hang up on me—"

The line had gone dead. Aomine stared at his phone, incredulous.

The stupid cat meowed, snapping Aomine out of his confused mind. The stupid cat had perched itself right next to him, its bright yellow eyes to him. They both exchanged look in the silence until Aomine broke it with a question.

"What the fuck 'imbecile' supposed to mean? Some kind of medical word?" he asked. "Midorima called me that."

The stupid cat snorted, looking back at the machine.

"Hey, don't you fucking dare snort at me, damned cat."

The stupid cat wasn't perturbed at all. Aomine sighed and decided to stare at the machine instead. Annoyance was slowly creeping up on him as he was unable to solve the mysterious puzzle that was the laundry machine. How the hell Taiga could do it every day (Kagami is supposedly a _Baka_gami) was a mystery for him.

After a minute, Aomine yelled out; "ARGH! Fuck this shit!" and flipped the basket over. The remaining clothes that were left in the basket were thrown everywhere. He leaned his back against the machine, his head tipped back, his knees drawn up, and his hand over his eyes in surrender.

A nudge on his leg brought his head down. The stupid cat was giving him an incredulous look; 'really?' Aomine remained silent. He looked over to the flipped basket, to the sprawled clothes, and tilted his head in an awkward angle to glance over his shoulder to the machine.

Right, he was supposed to be on the mission to make Taiga happy. And it seemed he hadn't done any progression by far.

Another sigh escaped Aomine, and he was back to figuring out the (not so) complicated machine.

It was twelve-thirty in the noon; five hours and thirty minutes before Kagami gets home. Aomine and the stupid cat were staring at the machine in the silence, still confused over how the laundry machine actually works.

_You're like a superhero!_

_Without the underwear on the outside of his pants, obviously._

_-Daiki_

_P/S: on the 2__nd__ thought, that sounds tempting too_

...-...-...

**[ 1.49 P.M. ]**

_Hey.  
>Can I ask you something?<em>

_Why is it every time we say good-night, it feels like good-bye?_

_-Taiga_

It wasn't the first time Aomine caught himself in the middle of staring competition with the stupid cat, and it wasn't going to be the last, either. Usually, it involved jealousy of each other over getting Kagami's affection, and when it became too intense Kagami had to step in to wrench them apart then lectured them on a healthy human-animal relationship.

The only difference today was that Kagami wasn't there to keep them in peace, nor had it anything to do with Kagami's affection.

Just that stupid cat was threatening to knock the white mug on the coffee glass table over with its paws hovering dangerously close to the mug.

Aomine was pointing the duster to the cat, his other hand occupied with a frame of his and Kagami's wedding picture, his eyes to the stupid cat. They had been stilled in that position without uttering a word, for gods know how long.

It was his mistake, actually, for forgetting the mug was even there in the first place. His mind was so busy recalling the sweet moments he and Kagami had shared (before the existence of the cat) when his eyes had fallen upon their wedding picture (they were standing on the altar with bright grins while holding hands. He was in a black suit and Kagami white. They had their wedding in LA, witnessed by Kagami's father and his parents along with their close friends) on top of stereo, by Kagami's note bottle while he had been dusting off the tv.

To make it far worst, it was his favorite mug. Kagami had bought it for his twentieth birthday, saying that the quote 'The best boyfriend ever!' on the mug suited him perfectly.

The paws inched closer. Aomine lowered his brows over his eyes sharply, carefully setting the frame back to its place without ripping his gaze away from the cat.

"Don't you dare, damned cat."

The stupid cat snorted, and pushed the mug off the table as naturally as breathing. Aomine's eyes went wide in horrified disbelief. The mug landed on floor with a loud crash, the coffee streaking across the wooden floor. There was a silence in the air.

Anger flared up in his chest, and then a second later, Aomine exploded. "FUCKING, FUCKITY, FUCK, FUCKER CAAAAAAT!"

It was ten minutes before two in the afternoon; four hours and ten minutes before Kagami gets home. Aomine was chasing the stupid cat around the house with a duster in his hand, a string of curses filling the air.

_I'm glad we share the pretty same height._

_Or else I'd have to keep you on your toes all the time._

_-Daiki_

...-...-...

**[ 2.31 P.M. ]**

_Hey, say cheese!_

_For me_

_-Taiga._

Aomine was playing Bioshock 2 when he received a text. Putting the game on a pause, he fumbled around the coffee table which was cluttered with beers and cups of noodle. He flipped the phone open and checked the inbox.

It was Kagami. Aomine raised a brow.

_Just back from vet, saving this little guy –Taiga._

Followed with a close picture of dirty white kitten lying on a steel table, which Aomine suspected it was the surgery table.

Aomine allowed himself a smile. Taiga's really an angel, he thought. Without wasting time he pushed the green button. The call was picked up after a few rings.

_"Oh, hey. You're alive,"_ Kagami said.

"Har de har har. You could've greeted me in a nicer way." He resumed the game, placing the phone between his ear and shoulder. It was awkward and painful, but meh…

_"You're usually sleeping by now."_

"Good point, but I can't sleep without my favorite pillow."

_"I didn't know you have a favorite pillow—"_

"It's you, dumbass."

There was a beat of silence before Kagami gave an 'ooooohhh'. Kagami laughed sheepishly. _"Geez, too cheesy. I'm getting diabetes over here, bastard."_ Aomine could imagine the smile that was grazing Kagami's features. The imagination—no, Kagami's smile was contagious. Aomine found himself smiling as well.

"You know, I've planned tomorrow's activities."

_"Okaaay, that's weird. You're a spontaneous type, so… uh, whatever, just tell me."_

Aomine smirked. "Wake up, sex, breakfast, sex, one-on-one, and in bed after, or you prefer on the court right away, I don't mind, your call. Then bath, bath-sex, pizza, sex, Bioshock 2 or Legend of Zelda, sex—"

_"Whoa, hold your fucking horses! You—! I'm still in the station, dammit! Just—geez, what if Kuro hears you?!"_

"Weeeeellll," Aomine drew out his word as long as his eyes drifted over the living room as an excuse to find the damned cat, even though he knew well the cat's current whereabouts. "The damned cat's not around." Out of the sudden, a loud, feminine screech blasted from the stereo in a full volume, riveting Aomine's attention back to the game. On the screen, something was smashing the glass window of the ruined mall. "Holy fuck," he muttered under his breath.

_"Daiki, what was that? Did I actually hear a screech?"_

"No, no, no. It's nothing. Just playing game—oh crap, Big Sister is here, and I don't have enough med kits—"

_"Okay, you're playing game. Got that. Now where's Kuro?"_

"I don't know. Playing outside, perhaps?" Aomine scrunched himself up. Oh great, an interrogation with his husband while having a fight with Big Sister. Just his luck. Aomine forced his brain to work to the fullest to handle with Kagami's questions while confronting the gangly, creepy, crazy girl in worn-out orange diving suit. "I mean, that stupid cat won't stop meowing in my ears and—"

_"Daiki, we both know Kuro doesn't like to play outside. He's an indoor cat."_

Uh huh, bad sign. Aomine had learned that in the HARD way. Discussing about the damned cat never ended in a good way, especially when Taiga was using his caustic, icy tones. The one that meant Aomine was going to be sleeping on the couch at nights and bribing his husband a mountain of cheeseburgers for his forgiveness.

"It kept insisting me—"

_"Daiki."_

Okay, screw a mountain of cheeseburgers. He'd better be ready to buy the whole Maji Burger's shares.

Aomine jabbed the button pause, the movement of Big Sister stabbing his character in a freeze, and he put down the controller. "You know what? I think I heard a doorbell, and it's rude to not answer it. So, yeah, bye and love ya'." He cut the call without giving a room to Kagami to interrupt then stared at his phone.

A pitiful mewl was heard from the bathroom. It was faint, but Aomine's ears managed to catch it. Sighing, he got up and walked over to the bathroom. The sound grew louder as he closed the distance. He opened the door and shifted his gaze downwards.

The stupid cat was sitting on the wet floor, glaring at him as if the glare could kill him. Aomine crouched down to examine the cat. The cat was slightly shivering, a suggestion of coldness, which was clearly proven with the wet black fur that matted to its body. Aomine sighed, steeling himself against the pang of guilt in his chest. He hated feeling guilty, especially when the image of Taiga trusting him to take care of the cat inspired guilt.

It was particularly painful stuff.

"Stay here," he told the cat.

Aomine went to the bedroom to get a dry towel. After clawing through the closet, Aomine came back with a white, fluffy towel. He wrapped the towel around the cat's wet body, relief that the cat didn't give much resistance and stayed quiet—he reckoned the cat was too cold to respond. Aomine carried it to the living room and flopped down on the floor to dry the cat off. The cat growled.

"It was your fault."

The cat hissed, which was muffled by the towel.

"If you didn't break my favorite mug, I wouldn't have locked you in the bathroom."

Another muffled hiss.

Aomine rolled his eyes. "Fine, I lied. I'd still do it because you're so fucking annoying."

At last Aomine stopped drying the cat off, and the cat's head emerged from the fluffy towel. The cat bared its fangs at Aomine in warning. Annoyed, Aomine draped the towel over the cat to silence it. "Oh, just shut up."

It was two and forty-two in the afternoon; three hours and twenty-eight minutes before Kagami gets home. Aomine was sitting in the middle of living room, watching the stupid, confused cat paw through the towel in a certain degree of amusement and satisfaction.

_I'm no poet.  
>I'm no singer.<br>I'm nobody._

_I'm just a man who is hopelessly in love with you._

_-Daiki_

...-...-...

**[ 3.05 P.M. ]**

_I'll still love you long after you're gone_

_-Taiga_

What it seemed like forever, the reply Aomine had been waiting finally came in after seven minutes he'd shot the text off. Sitting upright immediately in the dinner chair, his elbows propped on the table, the screen of his phone on his eye level, Aomine opened the text.

_what the hell? –Murasakibara._

Disappointed at the reply he received, Aomine furiously pounded on the buttons to write down his text. The cat had settled itself on the dinner table, right under the spotlight overhead, and yawned at him before tucking its head into its folded body.

_what the fuck is 'what the hell'?! told ya' I want homemade cheeseburger recipe, not the 'what the hell' shit! –Aomine._

Aomine huffed out in annoyance.

_I mean mine-chin never steps into kitchen, never mind making a burger. so yeah, my question is valid –Murasakibara._

Aomine resisted the urge to slam his forehead off the table in exasperation. Why couldn't anyone understand that he just wanted to make Taiga happy?

_dude, it's for Taiga, dammit! Just send me the goddamned recipe –Aomine._

He tipped the chair and balanced it on the back legs to kill the boredom. The stupid cat hadn't budged from its sleep pretence.

_ah, ok. gimme a minute –Murasakibara._

And Aomine let the chair fall forward with a clatter, his arms falling to the tabletop. "See? It's easy!" Aomine shouted, showing Murasakibara's reply to the cat. The stupid cat just cracked an eye open then slid it shut again, clearly uninterested. Aomine tried to not point it out and continued rambling away. "I can't understand why people make fuss over me trying to do some chores. That's just blatantly unfair and painful!"

The cat merely huffed out in annoyance and tucked its head deeper into his folded body.

Noticing this, Aomine made a face. "You're annoying, damned cat. Don't make me cook you."

An email came in, and Aomine quickly read it.

True to Murasakibara's word, Aomine got the recipe. The recipe had listed down the ingredients and how to make a homemade cheeseburger. Aomine reckoned Murasakibara had taken it from his official website since there was a picture of fine homemade cheeseburger in the corner of recipe page. Probably it was his 'brother-in-law' (grrrrr, grrrrrr) – Himuro's suggestion because Himuro was the editor who was responsible for publishing Murasakibara's recipe books.

After a quick scan through the page, Aomine put the phone down on the table ever so gently. The stupid cat, at last, raised its head to him. He stared at the cat.

In the end, he plowed through the silence; "Let's call a take-out tonight."

It was three twenty in the evening; two hours and forty minutes before Kagami gets home. Aomine was leafing through the Yellow Pages to look for a fine restaurant that offers a take-out while ignoring the cat's gaze on him.

_Move on_

_-Daiki_

_P/S: I love your smile more than anything, more than my own happiness_

...-...-...

**[ 3.55 P.M. ]**

_Aomine Daiki_

_-Taiga_

_P/S: uh… just feel like writing your name_

Aomine was never a patient man. Period.

Usually, when the boredom kicked in, Aomine would occupy his mind with unimportant things or nothingness, and let his body move on their own accord until the 'boring, boring, boring' impulse faded. It worked best when Kagami was around because Kagami always had ideas to entertain him – Aomine believed Kagami had hidden some backup plans under his sleeve to confront and deal with a bored Aomine Daiki.

When Kagami wasn't around, the impulse didn't fade and Aomine was at lost.

He had lost track of time, staring vacantly at the bleak ceiling of his apartment with his back on the couch and the stupid cat sleeping on top of his chest. The damned cat was heavy, its weight pressing into his chest, but Aomine couldn't care less since he was in dire need of accompany to shove the loneliness away that was clawing at his chest. And the stupid cat was the best accompany Aomine could have at the moment.

But he still needed his Taiga.

Tipping his head to the side, to the coffee table, Aomine stared at Kagami's note bottle which he had moved it from its original position to the table during the cleaning. After a moment of staring in silence, Aomine took the bottle on his hand. The bottle was an average-sized milk bottle which commonly can be found in any convenient stores. Kagami had rinsed the bottles clean and suggested to put simple, silly notes in them every time they go for work. The notes were originally written to encourage themselves to always never give up and move on now had morphed into a platform to pour out their undying love for each other.

The ritual had started after the dreadful incident which Aomine had been wheeled into the hospital with a serious gash on his stomach. He still remembered that day in vivid details; Kagami's ragged look when he had first wrenched his eyes open after the long surgery, the strength and desperation in Kagami's embrace as if Kagami was afraid he'd disappear, Kagami's chanting 'I thought I'm gonna lose you' into his ears.

It was the day that a realization had dawned upon them.

They couldn't imagine a life without each other.

With the risk constantly at their throat because of their dangerous job, Kagami had requested him to place notes in the bottle. At first, Aomine had refused because he wanted Kagami to move on if something worst was to happen to him, and the presence of the notes would make it harder. But reflecting back on the mornings he had to leave early without a chance of giving Kagami his word had changed his mind. Aomine couldn't bear the thought of leaving Kagami alone without a single word. A word to convey that he loves Kagami.

Since then, Aomine religiously followed the routine. But, deep down, he prayed hard that the day Kagami has to read the notes would never come.

Although the notes were only meant to be read if something bad was to happen to each other – please, don't – Aomine wasn't good at obeying rules (the irony is he's a police officer, who always demands people to follow the laws, ha ha). So, one day curiosity had eaten up on him and he'd read them without Kagami's permission and acknowledge.

And he'd found that one note he liked the best.

_You're always in my mind._

_-Taiga_

As simple as it was written, Aomine loved it the most. It reminded him that Kagami always thought about him even during the time they were set apart. It urged him to finish his mission faster to get him back to Kagami's side, so he always kept it close to him for an encouragement to stay alive.

Well, it worked fine by far. He was still alive and breathing.

The shift on top of his chest jerked Aomine out of his thoughts. The cat looked contented and it breathed out softly. It almost made Aomine smile, but he wiped it off when he remembered the stupid cat was actually his rival.

Aomine threw an arm over his eyes. Silence took over the apartment. It was a painful reminder that Kagami wasn't with him at the moment.

It was ten past four in the evening; fifty minutes before Kagami gets home. Aomine was laying across the couch with the cat on top him, his hand clutching the note bottle hard like it was the most precious thing in the world.

_I'm sorry._

_For making you read this._

_-Daiki_

...-...-...

**[ 5.14 P.M. ]**

_Yours_

_-Taiga_

Aomine jolted into awake to the sound of his alarm clock. Panicked, he fumbled about for the phone through the hazy vision and his hand bumped the cat. Ignoring the stupid cat's hiss, he shut the alarm off with a pound of finger on the button. As soon as the alarm was stopped, Aomine let his head fall back to the pillow and took an audible breath in relief.

He rubbed his eyes to shove the sleep away, slightly alarmed that the sleep had taken him away. When the vision had cleared Aomine checked the time on his phone.

It was already past five.

Aomine bolted upright on the couch, no longer caring about the cat on top of his chest and his head whipping around to find any sign of his husband.

No sign of Kagami.

He sprung to his feet and began to circle around the apartment; the kitchen, the bathroom, the bedroom, the study room, any places he could think of, and then back to the living room again, and still no sign of Kagami Taiga.

"Taiga?" he asked to confirm it.

No answer. There was no sign of Kagami anywhere. Just him and the damned cat on the floor, hissing angrily at him.

Disappointed, Aomine fell lying back on the couch. He rolled over to face the back of the couch, his back to the cat, and flipped the pillow over his ear to tune any damned sound out coming from the stupid cat. He was thinking that Kagami probably swung by the store to buy some groceries or helped an old woman carry her groceries. It was Kagami he was talking about, a guy who always puts others first. One of the wonderful qualities Kagami had Aomine had fallen in love with.

It was fifteen past five in the evening; fifteen minutes after Kagami supposedly gets home. Aomine stayed on the couch, waiting for his husband while ignoring the stupid cat's meow.

_I think I'm a virus_

_I love to bug you_

_-Daiki_

...-...-...

**[ 6.08 P.M. ]**

_I have so much to say,  
>but you're so far away.<em>

_-Taiga_

Aomine grew impatient and worry. He was pacing across the living back and forth, his phone in his clutch. The cat was meowing noisily, but Aomine had no room to argue with the damned cat as the panic had seized him completely.

Kagami had promised him to get home by five, and yet Aomine hadn't seen a hair of Kagami anywhere. Kagami wasn't the type who breaks his promises, so when Kagami hadn't shown up, it triggered uneasiness in him.

He dialed Kagami's number.

_"Hi, you've reached Kagami Taiga. But I'm not available at the moment. Please leave your message after the beep—"_

Aomine cut the call and yelled out "FUUUUUUCCKK!" furiously. This was his fourth attempt of dialing Kagami, and failed again. He slumped back against the couch, feeling tired and weary.

It was eleven minutes past six; an hour and eleven minutes after Kagami supposedly gets home. Aomine attempted to dial Kagami again for the fifth time, in the high hopes that Kagami will pick up the call.

_Dear God,  
>the only thing I ask of you<br>is to hold him when I'm much too far away._

_He deserves better._

_-Daiki_

...-...-...

**[ 7.20 P.M. ]**

_I'm glad that I found you_

_-Taiga._

Today Aomine had discovered so many things. He'd learned how to use the laundry machine. He'd learned that cleaning could drain his energy, especially when it was rudely interrupted by the damned cat. He'd learned that he had no a single idea about cooking. He'd learned to call a take-out (and stored them in the refrigerator for the dinner later). He'd learned to tolerate with the damned cat.

And now he was in the process of learning 'miserable'.

Curling up on the couch in the dark, quiet living room, only the bright LED lights from his phone as the source of his light, Aomine couldn't stop himself from staring at the empty email. The cat nudged at his side, but Aomine paid no heed to it.

_where are you? _

He shot the text off to Kagami's number. Then waited.

After a minute, Kagami hadn't replied. So Aomine kept waiting.

It was thirty minutes past seven in the evening; two hours and a half after Kagami supposedly gets home. Aomine was still waiting for a reply from his husband while the cat meowed softly, as if telling him 'he's fine.'

Aomine wished he could believe that.

_Don't forget that telephone works both ways._

_-Daiki_

...-...-...

**[ 8.03 P.M. ]**

_Good morning!_

_-Taiga_

"You know what, fuck this shit," Aomine said to no one particular.

He put on an inner V-neck shirt and a grey sweater. Aomine grabbed the phone on the table and proceeded to get to his shoes. Brooding thoughts kept nagging him in his mind, but Aomine refused to entertain the notions. Instead, he chose to search for his husband and personally escort him home.

The sudden appearance of the damned cat in his way had Aomine stopped in his track. The cat meowed loudly.

"Fuck off, damned cat. I'm busy," he growled.

The cat replied with a stern meow. Aomine got it.

"I'm not bringing you out, dammit."

Another meow.

"Geez, you're stubborn! Just stay at home, okay?!"

If Aomine could think rationally, he'd have laughed out loud watching himself talk to the damned cat. The cat had been trained to reply to people since Kagami loved to talk to it. The stupid cat often acted like a human; snorts, glares, _scoffs_; too humanly to Aomine's liking that sometimes it gave Aomine creeps.

The cat gave him a stern look and a growl under its breath.

Sighing, Aomine gave up. "Fine! Just don't suddenly go disappear on me, is that understood?"

The cat tipped his head higher, as though agreeing with the deal. Aomine was satisfied with the verbal answer and allowed the cat to hop into the hoodie again.

It was a quarter past eight in the evening; three hours and a quarter after Kagami supposedly gets home. Aomine and the damned cat named Kuro were out on a special mission of bringing their favorite human home, safe and sound.

They both loved Kagami too much to leave Kagami alone.

_Hey to you too._

_-Daiki_

_P/S: where's my morning kiss?_

...-...-...

**[ 9.27 P.M. ]**

_I've done so many mistakes in my life,  
>but falling in love with you isn't one of them.<em>

_-Taiga_

Aomine loved to think that he was a great driver. Better than Kagami or anyone else in this world, and that's including the professional drivers of F1.

Not this time.

For the first time in his life, Aomine had to pound his leg onto the brake pedal, hard, that he almost flew against the seat belt of his Toyota and the car was stopped with a tremendous jolt. The poor cat had scratched the seat, its look between horrified and traumatized. Aomine would've laughed at the cat if he, too, wasn't caught in the shock.

The fault was on him, Aomine admitted it. He had been looking at the row of busy shops along the street to find Kagami. Briefly distracted by one of the huge advertisement boards that was showing a hair gel commercial with the damned pilot, Kise Ryouta featured in it he hadn't realized the Subaru in front of him had stopped.

Luckily he'd managed to hit the brake pedal just in time before his bumper collides with the rear of the Subaru.

Aomine recovered from the shock and the jagged silence. He looked around and noticed that the traffic was moving excruciatingly slow and directed to another lane. There were traffic officers guarding the place, some blowing whistles, some waving their hands. Curious, he steered his car to the lane which was the nearest one to the pavement.

When he was sure the traffic wouldn't move for another minute he rolled down the window car. He could hear sirens and honks blaring in the distance and see some sorts of commotions ahead with bystanders, ambulances, police cars, fire trucks circling around the parameter, and followed with an appearance of huge burning building and smokes in the air. Aomine recognized the building as Marianne Hotel, one of the five-stars rated hotels in Tokyo.

Well, from its look, it seemed the stars had burned into crisps.

Aomine spotted a traffic officer standing nearby.

"Sir?!" he shouted in a light tone, waving his hand to capture the officer's attention. It took him a minute to get the officer walking over to him. Aomine leaned closer to the window.

"May I help you, sir?" the officer asked.

"What's happening here actually?" Aomine pointed to the road ahead which was clogged with vehicles.

"Oh, you haven't watched the news?" When Aomine shook his head at this, the officer explained. "Marianne Hotel was caught in fire hours ago. Few trucks were sent to put out the blaze, mostly from Tokyo and Harajuku units. Pretty chaotic too."

"Ah," Aomine made a sound in understanding. It should explain why Kagami hadn't come home. Kagami was from said Tokyo fire department. At least Aomine now had information of Kagami's whereabouts. "Any casualties?"

"So far, unknown. But from what I've heard, one of the floors had suddenly collapsed. Few firefighters from Tokyo unit were trapped inside before another unit came to save them. It was reported they were heavily wounded and one of them had a fatal injury."

Suddenly Aomine was alarmed. A bad feeling hit him like a wave.

"Don't worry, sir," the officer went on, oblivious to Aomine's brooding. "We'll clear the road as soon as the—SIR?!"

Aomine had hopped out of the car, half-acknowledging the cat's presence in his hoodie, and started to sprint away in a full speed without killing the engine first. The car wasn't at the top of his priority at the moment. Kagami was. He forced his way through the busy street, unceremoniously bumping into and pushing people out of his way. Some jumped back and threw curses to him for being impolite, but Aomine blocked them out of his hearing and kept running forward.

With the great stamina he'd built over the years of basketball and police training, Aomine made to the scene within a few minutes. Damn, the place was even worst. Aomine felt like an outsider standing in the middle of chaos or apocalypse. Firefighters were struggling hard to control the blaze. Police officers rushed to help the wounded people. Medics were loading injured people into the ambulances. The combination sound of crisps from the burning building, the hooting shouts, the loud sirens, and the things Aomine couldn't think of made his head swim in confusion. The heat from the burning building didn't help at all.

Suddenly there was a loud boom. It shook the ground under Aomine, and Aomine almost lost his balance. The cat in his hoodie, which he truly had forgotten its existence earlier, was digging its claws into the fabric. It ended as quickly as it'd started. For a moment, silence settled over the scene, only the crispy sound as the background sound before a harsh shout broke it again.

"Another floor collapsed!" Came a shout behind him.

"I found another one!" Another shout.

"I need a medical team here! ASAP!"

"Help! My hand!"

"ARRRGHHH!"

"My baby!"

Shouts after shouts assaulted his ears. Holy shit, it was mayhem. Wonderful, another phobia to jam down deep in the black closet in the back of his mind. As if melissophobia alone wasn't enough for him. Aomine winced, his eyes darting around in confusion, in desperation. His panic thoughts raced far advance than his rational ones. All he could think was get Taiga home, and it kept repeating in his mind that it almost made him crazy and throw into a delusional state.

A large hand landed on his shoulder, the pressure strong enough to make him tense and catch him off guard. Aomine whipped his head to the side, only to find the officer he'd talked to looking at him.

"Sir?! You okay?!" the officer shouted to rival his voice with the loud, mixed sounds around him. When Aomine didn't make a move, still frozen both in shock and confusion, the officer grabbed him by the hand to drag him out of the scene.

Realizing the officer's intention, Aomine struggled to break free. "No! I've gotta find him! I've gotta find Taiga!" he tried to yank his hand away.

"Sir, it's dangerous here! The building might collapse again! You're in the red zone!"

"I don't fucking care! Taiga! I've gotta find him!"

"Sir!"

"Lemme FUCKING go!"

"Sir!"

"No—"

And then he heard a familiar voice.

"Please, I need to go home."

Aomine was stilled. He knew that voice.

"No, I don't need any medical attention. My arm is fine. I gotta go."

There was it again. It was Kagami's voice, he knew it. Even through the babble of voices, the blaring of loud sounds, a little too loud and a little too brittle, Aomine's keen ears managed to catch it and Kagami's quiet voice brought his head around.

Not far from him, near the pavement, by an ambulance, there stood his husband, Kagami Taiga. He was talking to the medic with small eyes and black, short hair. Kagami was holding his other arm, which Aomine noted that the arm was indeed bleeding.

In that brief moment, just for a second, even if Kagami hadn't noticed him, Aomine felt relief bloom in his chest.

"Sir?" The officer's voice snapped Aomine out of his trance. Aomine turned to the officer, temporarily clueless. The officer asked him again. "You okay, sir?"

"Ah, I'm—I'm good. I'm leaving now, I mean, right away," he told the officer.

"Should I walk you out or—"

"I'm fine, really," Aomine declined the offer, and without uttering another word, he left the officer alone and jogged over to the ambulance. He silently approached his husband, relishing that the fact his husband was still alive, and he still wouldn't have to read the notes in the bottle for another fucking day.

Kagami was still talking to the medic when Aomine neared him from behind. "…just let me go home, okay? I have someone waiting for me at home and I—"

"Taiga."

It was an immediate reaction. Kagami turned around to him, his face borderline shock and disbelief before it was curdled into relief and happiness, and Aomine couldn't help but feel grateful for having another chance to witness it again. At the moment, he couldn't care less about the chaotic scene behind him. Kagami was there standing in front of him, that's what he cared about.

"Daiki? Is that really you?" Kagami reached out to him with his good hand.

Aomine didn't reply. Instead, he let Kagami touch his cheek to prove it, even though he could see Kagami's hand dirtied by dirt. He felt Kagami's hand tremble against his cheek. With the burning building offering him light, Aomine saw fear and trauma in Kagami's eyes. Right then he knew Kagami was really shaken by the incident.

Aomine took Kagami's hand in his and pulled him closer. He brushed the black-red layered fringes off of Kagami's face. Being this close with Kagami, finally Aomine could see the small cuts marring Kagami's face. Aomine almost couldn't hold back the wince, but he decided to stay strong for Kagami and offer him reassurance. "Hey, you're okay now. You're with me right now. With us."

"Us?" Damn, Kagami sounded so broken. Aomine wanted to kiss him to assure him it was fine.

"Yeah, damned cat insisted to come with me." As if on cue, the cat climbed up his shoulder and craned its neck. It meowed noisily then leaned closer to lick Kagami's cheek.

Kagami let out a shaky chuckle. Aomine knew Kagami was trying hard to hide his trauma away. Kagami sniffled. "I don't know what to say. Seeing you with Kuro here—gods, this is so confusing." Kagami avoided Aomine's eyes. Aomine knew that too.

Aomine pulled Kagami into his arms, tentative as not to hurt Kagami's injured arm. He tucked Kagami's head into his shoulder and looped his arms around Kagami's muscular body, not bothered by the scent of smoke blanketed over them or the fact that the damned cat was resting its paws on top of Kagami's head as some kind of reassurance as well. It was nice to have Kagami in his arms again, alive and still breathing.

"You know," Aomine began.

"Yeah?"

"Thank you for staying alive."

He felt Kagami gasp and a trembling hand fist the back of his sweater. Kagami was shaking in his arms.

"I…" Kagami breathed out into his shirt. "I don't know. It was a chaos. One moment I was packing to go home, and a second later I realized that I was inside of a burning building. It was so hot. I almost couldn't breathe. Goto-san was screaming out at me, so I hurried to him, but the ceiling suddenly collapsed, right in front of me, on top of Goto-san. I screamed to him. I tried to pull him out, but it was too heavy. I didn't know what to do. More people came rushing in, but I just stood there, at lost. Another collapse and I kept thinking of you, you're at home with Kuro, waiting for me, and I wanted to go home, I just—"

"Hey, you're with me now. You're safe." Aomine gave a pat on Kagami's back. He tightened his embrace to make his point clear. "You're with me."

The tug on Aomine's back shirt grew stronger. "I'm sorry… it's just… I had a bad day at work today."

Aomine took a sharp breath at that. He knew what that meant. They both knew it. Aomine gave Kagami tight hug without actually hurting him, just a fraction beneath pain, to convince Kagami that he was fine, everything was alright, he was no longer in the burning building but in his arms, safe and sound. Aomine let the silence rule over them.

After a broken moment of relishing each other, Aomine pulled away. "How about we get your hand checked? Then you can have as many as cheeseburgers you want. My treat." Aomine couldn't help but baby Kagami a little. The cat joined him meowing in agreement.

Kagami looked surprised at first, wide-eyed, slacked-jaws, and then—and then, despite all, despite the commotion, despite the bleeding arm, Kagami laughed, just laughed merrily and it sounded so right, so lovely in his ears.

It was five minutes past ten in the evening; five hours and five minutes after Kagami supposedly gets home. He'd been attacked by the damned cat twice, he'd brought the damned cat to the morning jogging, he'd played one-on-one with Tetsu, he'd learned to do the laundry, he'd done housekeeping on their apartment alone, he'd chase the damned cat around the apartment for his broken mug, he'd taken his first revenge on the cat by locking it in their bathroom, he'd gotten himself a homemade cheeseburger recipe, he'd called a take-out, he'd taken his nap on the couch with the damned cat, he'd left a message in Kagami's inbox, he'd gone out to find Kagami, and he'd left his car engine running.

It was a hell of day off, and he'd learned that in the hard way.

But nothing was mattered anymore. The countdown, the silly fights with the damned cat, the things he'd done today, or the feelings he'd gone through, they weren't mattered to him anymore.

Kagami Taiga was still here with him. That is what was mattered to him the most.

Aomine smiled to himself.

_Thank you._

_For being, and staying alive._

_-Daiki_

.

"Sometimes when they say 'I had a bad day at work'  
>it means they almost couldn't make it home alive."<p>

-Anonymous.

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** Sappy fanfic is sappy.

Sorry for the long one-shot(?) and the grammatical errors that you found. I've been stopped writing for like... a few months and yeah, my skill has gone rusty a bit.

Anyway, do leave your thoughts or review behind~


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